davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1887-09-14

team-horse will soon eat his head off If kept
unemployed and he will soon do so whether
kept by the farmer or the manufacturer
National Lire Stock journal
And why did not the Journal tell us
hoc the farmers should employ their
teams when the teamwork on the
farm is done-all of it there is to do?
The fact is there are lots of people who
write upon subjects that they know
very little about, and no class seems to
be more favored with that kind of liter
ature than the farmer. Everybody
seems to feel at perfect liberty to en-
tighten him in regard to his business.
People who never did a days work on
farm will write as learnedly as does
this team economist. If steers can be
raised at profit doing no work, oxen
may be kept with profit when they are
not at work. They can be laying on
flesh and fitting for market, if they are
well kept; and if horses cannot be kept
at a profit while idle the farmer
must stand the loss after he has done
with his team all the labor necessary or
profitable to be done, for he must have
a team to do teamwork and he can
not create teamwork and do it while
he is doing other work which does not
permit the use of team. We would
rather have the experience of one good
practical farmer on almost any branch
of his trade than cords of such preach
ing as that contained in the above
paragraph.
The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1887-09-14
Bone as a Fertilizer.

Mr.. Editor:-Perhaps the following
account of my experience with ground
bone will be of value to others. In the
first place l would say that nearly all
experiments which are reported are
worthless, so far as the common farmer
is concerned. Some one has pet COW
which he feeds with a spoon and takes
her pulse and temperature every day,
and then reports marvellous results;
another sows square rod of grain and
tells how much he got to the acre.
Now all this is boiled-down nonsense.
Such things have made the hardin eaded
farmer suspicious and he puts little
trust in any of these results. What we
want to know is what can be done, or
what is done, in fair, practical way.
Last spring i took a field of twelve
acres and sowed on it three tons of
coarse-ground bone mixed with over
two tons of ashes. Part of the bone
had been mixed with the wet ashes for
several months. On some of the bone
l used little acid, not over ten pounds
to hundred pounds of bone. The
whole mass was mixed with three loads
of muck on barn floor and then scat
tered on the ground with a shovel from
the cart. This insured an even distri-
button, more so than if muck had not
been used. 1t is to be kept in mind
that the field was an exhausted one.
1t would not produce a crop without
some fertilizer. l took this field pur-
posely. Often field is SO rich that We
cannot tell how much good the fertil
izer has done. One section was soweC
with ashes alone, one section haG
nothing on it and the whole was
seeded with common oats. With the
ashes the oats did something; withou
The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1887-09-14
The Fairs.

The editor of this department will be
present at as many of the fairs within
the papers circulation as he can posi-
bly, reach, and will probably hand a
copy of the WATCHMAN to some who
are not subscribers. To such he calls
attention to the offer of the pub
Usher to send the paper on trial the
balance of the year for FIFTY CENTS,
paid in advance, as all subscriptions
must be paid. Then your paper stops
when the time is out-no duns, no
trouble about stopping it. Please look
over the columns of the paper and see
the great amount of reading matter COM
pared with the advertisements. 1t has
no patent inside" or outside matter,
but is paper made up at home, con-
tanning extensive local news items and
good literature. 1t is printed on good
paper and good type. Its agricultural
department aims to be a medium of
useful practical information. Give the
paper trial for the rest of the year
and we think you will like it well
enough and think it of sufficient value
to you to induce you to take it right
along. Then we will tell you what else
we want
The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1887-09-14
New Hampshire Grange Fair.

Mr.. EditOr:-I have been absent on
a trip to New Hampshire, which must be
my apology for neglected items. The
hay crop is very large and not secured
yet. Potatoes are few and poor and
the same is true of apples. There is
considerable building going on in some
places. A large government building,
which will cost 100000, is in process
of construction at Concord. G.. n.
Simpson of West Fairlee is at work on
it at present. The annual state fair of
the Changers of New Hampshire, which
occurs next month at Tilton, is likely
to surpass in size of exhibit and excel
lence of detail all other fairs in New
England. Hon. Charles Tilton. for
whom the town is named, has spared
neither money nor work in making the
grounds as nearly perfect as possible. He
has lately enclosed twelve acres of land,
in addition to the old grounds, for the
use of the fair. A fine trotting-course is
kept in order, and some two hundred or
more convenient stalls are built for the
horses and cattle. A keeper of the
grounds lives in cottage near the gate
of entrance. Two or three band stands
for musicians have been erected in con-
venient places, and large pavilion,
open on all sides, occupies the center
At one side is building which looks as
though it had got lost or run away.
It's the old Northfield meeting
one of those old square, two-story struc-
lures, once the pride of the church.
going people all over New England, but
now fast disappearing. Mr.. Tilton, at
his own expense, moved it some two
miles to the fairgrounds and fitted it up
for the use of the society or grange.
The old pews have been replaced by
settees and the pulpit by a speakers s.
platform, but the galleries on tire e
sides and the old sounding-board re-
main unchanged. The building is per-
haps century and half old. In the
rear of the church is an addition, con-
tanning cloak-room, dressing-ro ON,
water-closets and every convenience
for such place. The beautiful pine
groves, which are all about the grounds,
are cleared of underbrush and carriage
roads wind around and through them,
and altogether it is by both nature and
art one of the finest fairgrounds in the
country. The distance from the depot
is about half mile, but trains stop at
the grounds when desired. Mr.. Tilton
allows no side-shows, auctions or coarse
features at all, and we hope it may
prove successful. A. NJ. S.
The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1887-09-14
Cutting Closed TeatS.

Cows that have lost their teats could have
ner: Take sharp pen-knife between the
thumb and finger, leaving about half an
inch of the point exposed, the width of the
blade being about three-sxteenths of an
inch. Taking the defective teat in the left
hand, press on it enough to show the open
ing, and push the knife quickly up as far as
the thumb and finger. have opened num-
bers of them and never failed to have good
results. If the operation the first time is
not successful it can be repeated within
three days, this time turning the blade in
the opposite direction 1t is so painless that
COW will never lift her foot by the sore
ness it occasions.-H W. s., in Homestead.
Perhaps the statement that the COW
won't lift her foot is correct. We never
tried it and would prefer being about
six feet away from the said cows heels
when it was tried. But we print it
along with the assertion that dehorning
cattle is nearly painless. Those who
have had to do with cow which has
broken off horn, in the way of patch
ing it up, will, we think, have an idea
that the operation is not highly pleas
ing to the COW and that the stump is
not quite devoid of feeling.
The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1887-09-14
Wasting Fodder.

A few days since neighbor with
whom we were talking concerning cut
ting the corn before the frost came made
this remark: " You won't care so
much for the fodder this year as you
have before, you have so much hay.'
The corn was a little green to cut for
getting the most and best of the grain,
and the very abundant hay crop sug-
gested the thought that the corn-fodder
would not be as absolutely necessary to
get the stock through the winter as it
need not be as careful in saving it. To
the careful, prudent farmer there is no
need of saying that such course would
be a most unwise and wasteful one.
The habit of saving should be formed.
Save not because one specially needs it
at the time or in the near future, but
because waste is crime against nature.
The Israeltes would have Jared but
poorly in their years of famine and
the Egyptians have been deprived of a
very profitable transaction if Joseph
had not in times of prosperity and
abundant crops laid up as carefully in
harvest as if crops had been short. The
lack of care of crops after they are
grown is double waste Not only has
one lost the use of his capital Qhe use
of his lanD, but he has lost the labor
he has already put into the crop, the
manure, the blowing, the planting and
hoeing as well, and is careless of the
kind providence which has given the
favorable season and made the crop
possible. No judicious man will be less
careful in saving all he has raised,
or in careful and judicious feeding, be-
cause his harvest has been more abun-
dant than usual, or more than his
immediate necessities demand.
The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1887-09-14

any dressing the ground did very little.
On the rest / had what was called one
of the finest stands of grain ever seen
in this section. The straw was fully
five feet and did not lodge. | was
unfortunate in cutting it and it was out
in several rains and had to be handled
so much that il shelled good deal.
Still it threshed out six hundred fifty
bushels. AS oats are VIGOROUSLY
short crop in this region and much of
the best land has not produced over
forty bushels to the acre, it must be
conceded that the bone was a success.
l myself put twenty carloads of stable
manure on another acre and got less
than forty bushels. AS used fine and
coarse bone mixed, | feel certain that i
shall receive benefit for at least five
wears. and as the field is to be seeded
to grass that is what want. AS to the
cost, Professor Cooke says that the aver
age price of ground bone per ton in
the state is S3S, and that it is cheap at
that. But pure ground bone can be
bought at Wells River for 1872. Pro-
lessor Cooke says that in estimating
values he is guided by the tiaenesS of
il. Now for Professor Cooke as a
practical chemist l have respect; for
Professor Cooke as practical farmer
1 have not so much respect. 1t de-
ponds on what is wanted of the bone.
If we wish to have it all available the
first year, then doubtless the finer it is
the better But certainly the medium
bone will last longer and be better for
seeding down. In the past year / have
taken great pains to investigate this
matter, and have found that the best
and most successful farmers in New
York and Pennsylvania used quite
coarse bone and the results were aston
ishing. AS one of them said, " / am
sure to get the benefit in the end" and
it was plain from the crop on his land
that he did. From the experiment of
this year | am convinced that the best
way to use bone for general crops is to
The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1887-09-14
Grass or Cultivated Ground
for Pears

Nothing seems more surprising than
the rapid movement which seems to
have been made the last fifteen to
twenty years in favor of growing pear
trees in grass. We well remember
when the subject was first mooted
what storm the suggestion made. 1t
was looked on as the height of absurdity,
and those who recommended it were
thought to be lunatics of the most con-
frmed description. We never took
any side in this question until our own
experience proved its value u until
we had successful instances of pear
culture in grass, as we often have. We
do not deny that there are many good
cultivators who have excellent success
in what is called clean culture of pear
orchards. Their error has been in re-
garding it as the only successful plan.
As we have said, it is rather remark
able how great is the change the other
way, and we should not be surprised
one of these days to find the public
running to the opposite extreme and
insisting that in grass only can pears
be grown. We are confident that the
crops are more regular, the fruit more
perfect and the trees are better pro-
tected against blight. We do not, in
fact, ever remember having a pear
tree to die of blight-not that we be-
lieve that grass is perfect protection,
only that such is the fact The ground
is uniformly cooler in grass than in cul-
tivated land, and generally is more
moist; and then, too, the roots are
never disturbed. We have lost several
standard and number of dwarf trees
by blight; in fact latterly not year
passes that there is not diminution of
our trees in this way, while in grass
nothing but old age seems to cause
them to succumb. When we say that
we have three trees on our premises
said to be fully one hundred fifty years
old in good bearing condition, one of
The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1887-09-14
General DOnaldsOn's Fortunate
Escape.

From the Century we quote the fol-
lowing war anecdote by r. II. Eddy:
d" Prior to the battle of Nashville Major
general James l.. Donaldson (who won
honors in the Mexican war and who
died in the spring of 1866 was quar-
termaster under General Thomas. He
once told me the following incident:
Having occasion to purchase mules for
the army, he ordered person in whom
he had confidence TO visit the contigu-
Gus Northern States, inadvertently say
ing to him buy as many as you
cam not supposing he would be able
to secure more than few thousand at
the most. Some weeks afterward, just
before the attack upon Hoods army.
General Donaldson, on meeting his
agent, inquired how many mules he
had been able to secure. To the amaze
ment of the general he was informed
that trenty thousand or more had been
obtained. Upon which the astonished
general exclaimed: / am a ruined
mani | shall be court-martialed and
driven from the army for not limiting
you in your purch ase You have
procured many times more than
[ had any idea or intention of pur-
chasing: but the fault is mine, not
yours. / ought to have been particu
lar in my orders In an extremely
disheartened state he went to his home,
believing that such a thoughtless act
on his part could not be overlooked by
the commanding general. He had
scarcely reached his house before mes
senger came from General Thomas with
an order for General Donaldson to
come Immediately to headquarters.
This seemed to be the sealing of his
fate, and in state of trepidation bor-
dering on frenzy he appeared before
General Thomas, whom he found in a
mood, apparently, of great depression.
Soon after Donaldson had entered his
presence General Thomas said: Don
aldson, how many mules have you?'
With some perturbation he replied:
Upwards of twenty-five thousand
Twenty-Five thousand, did you say?'
repeated the general. Is it possible
that you have this number? Donald
son, accept my most heartfelt thanks;
you have saved this army! ! can now
have transportation and can fight Hood,
and will do so at once"
The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1887-09-14
them apparently as good as ever it was,
we think there is good ground for our
opinion. -GermdntODn Telegraph.
A Cure for Stumbling.

A writer in the Pittsburgh Stockmdn
gives the following as the cause and
cure of this disagreeable habit: " Some
good horses are addicted to stumbling,
walking or moving in slow trot. A
well-versed veterinarian states that
there are two causes that would tend
to produce this faulty action-one, a
general weakness in the muscular sys-
TEN, such as would be noticed in a
tired horse; the other, a weakness of
the exterior muscles of the leg, brought
about by carrying too much weight on
the toe. To effect cure, he adds,
tighten the weight of each front shoe
about four ounces. Have the toe of
the shoe made of steel instead of iron !;
it will wear longer. Have it rounded
off about the same as it would be when
one-third worn out, in order to prevent
tripping. Allow one weeks rest.
Have the legs showered for few min
utes at time with cold water through
a hose, in order to create spray; then
rub dry, briskly, from the chest down
to the foot Give walking exercise
daily during this week for about an
hour twice day. When you COM
mence driving again omit the slow jog;
either walk or send him along at a
sharp trot for mile or two, then walk
away, but do not speed for at least
several weeks. BY this means the
habit of stumbling from either of the
above causes will be pretty well over
Gomez
The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1887-09-14
Soldiers &uoeet.
Shooting Of StonewaIl Jackson at
Charlottesville.

After night fell Stonewal Jackson
rode out with his staff to reconnoiter in
front of the line he had gained. 1t
was his idea to stretch completely
around in the rear of Hooker and cut
him off from the river. The night was
dark and Jackson soon came upon the
Union lines. Their infantry drove him
back, and as he returned in the dark
ness his own soldiers began firing at
their commander, of course installing
his party for the enemy. Jackson was
shot in the hand and wrist and in the
upper arm at the same time. His horse
turned, and the general lost his hold of
the bridle-rein; his cap was brushed
from his head by the branches; he
reeled and was caught in the arms of
an officer. After a moment he was
assisted to dismount, his wound was
examined and a litter was brought.
Just then the Union artillery opened
again, and murderous fire came down
upon the party through the woods and
the darkness. One of the litter-bearers
stumbled and fell and the others were
frightened. They laid the litter on the
ground, the furious storm of shot and
shell sweeping over them like hail.
Jackson attempted to rise, but his aid
de-camp held him down till the tenn
pest of fire was lulled. Then the
wounded general was helped to rise
and walked few steps in the forest,
but he became faint and was laid again
on his litter. Once he rolled to the
ground when an assistant was shot
and the litter fell. Just then General
Pender, one of his subordinates, passed.
He stopped and said: 81 hope you are
not seriously hurt, general. fear l
shall have to retire my troops, they are
so much broken" But Jackson looked
up at once and exclaimed: "You must
hold your ground, General Pender;
you must hold your ground, sir! " This
was the last order he ever gave. He
was borne some distance to the nearest
house and examined by the surgeon,
and after midnight his left arm was
amputated at the shoulder. When Lee
was told that his most trusted lieuten-
ant had been wounded he was greatly
distressed, for the relations between
them were most tender. Jackson
has lost his left arm," said Lee, but
/ have lost my right arm. "-Generdl
adam Bddedu, in 81. Nicholas.
The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1887-09-14
Farm Teams.

Whether they can afford it or not, more
than one-half of the farmers in this country
do not work their teams, on an average,
more than one-half of the time. How many
farmers, with all their ability for saving ex-
penses, have ever carefully considered this
large waste of team capacity for work :?
Should they carefully count the cost Of
keeping their horses supposed to be devoted
to farm work they would find that for every
full days labor performed the cost had been
fully 81 per day. If miller, lumberman,
provider of material of any kind requiring
the service of teams cannot afford to keep
idle horses in the stable, how can the farmer
afford it? The farmer often complains, and
rightfully, that his margin of profit is very
small and that other branches of industry
make larger profits; and admitting this con-
clusion, would it not be well for farmers TO
study the methods Of economy in time
adopted in other branches of business? A
The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1887-09-14
Feelings when Under Fire.

How does one feel under fire? 1t is
safe to say that no man, no matter how
brave he may be, ever yet went into
action feeling perfectly at ease. There
is an indescribabe fear, dread of
something indefinable, that Expresses
for time the most courageous. AS
the action advances, however, this feel
ing passes away to a large extent, if
not altogether, but with the great ma
iority of men pride, the desire for dis
tinction, a sense of duty, the prompt
ings of patriotism, the enthusiasm that
swells like the tides up and down the
ranks, stimulate and nerve the soldier
to deeds of courage, even to rashness.
1t is an actual fact, too, that the same
man experiences different emotions on
different days in going into battle. To-
day he may be wholly Indifferent to
danger-the bursting shells, the whiz-
ling rifle-ball, the shrek of the wounded
startle him not. Tomorrow he may be
wholly unable to control himself-his
cheek will blanche with fear, his limbs
tremble, his teeth chatter with nervous
fright, and the only thing for him to do
is to leave the ranks and try to regain
MS Colnposure, anu, III possiplo, laho
part in the subsequent events of the
battle. This fact is due, suppose, to
mental or physical causes over which
the unfortunate victim cannot possibly
have any control. An intimate friend
who was afflicted in this manner could
give no explanation of its cause,
further than that some days he couldn't
fight to save his life, while at other
times he was as courageous as the best
of men.-Major KiSselbWgh.
The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1887-09-14
agricultural.
Seed Corn.

The careful farmer will select his
seed-corn in the field before the corn is
cut up. BY so doing he will secure
seed which has not been hurt by lying
in heaps after it is drawn into the barn,
and he can select the earliest-ripening
ears, those evenly cared and well
formed, and by successive years of the
practice secure a thorough-br corn.
The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1887-09-14

mix with wet ashes and let it ferment,
covered with muck. l shall not use
acid again unless it be for corn. Per-
haps another year / shall be able to re-
port how bone acts when used to seed
down, as part of my land is seeded,
with bone as a fertilizer, this year.
L. j. RANsLow, Wells River, Vt.
The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1887-09-14

IMPORTANT TO SEVEN OUT OF EVERY
Ten PEoPLE.-The moment constipa-
ton begins that moment the blood be-
gins to be impure and poor and the sys-
IFyou want to have your baby healthy
and beautiful four things are necessary:
Fresh air, good food, bright sunshine
and DR.. Bulls Baby Syrup.